Imagine being so angry at your $59 iPod Shuffle conking out, that you'd file a lawsuit against Apple. He must have a serious lack of shame too, as his reason for the Shuffle breaking? It wasn't immune to his sweat.

Fair enough, the Shuffle is marketed as being the ultimate MP3 player for those of the athletic persuasion, but to say it couldn't handle customer Stephen Vale's perspiration dribbling down the earphones cord into the jack is pretty crazy. In his filings, he listed Apple's claims of "working out," "running," and "on the road" as being suitable activities for using the Shuffle as false.

It's not known if Vale was using the third-gen Shuffle, which came out in March of last year and caused a hissy-fit amongst headphone purists, or the previous model which had the ugly scroll wheel on front. Regardless, Vale is suing for five breach of warranty counts, one of false advertising and one of unfair competition, all after Apple gave him a replacement cord and everything.

At this point, the housing can't get much smaller without coming with a serious child-safety…
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What I want to know is—where had he clipped the Shuffle, causing that much sweat to drip down the cord? I attach mine to the waistband of my gym pants, which seems the most logical place to stick it. In fact, you know what? I don't think I want to know what caused that much sweat. I feel slightly ill just thinking about it. [The Wrap]

UPDATE: I'm receiving emails from other people who've suffered through the same problem as Vale, with the issue due to the headphone controls shorting out on the cord. Vale's seeking other Californian residents who wish to join him in the lawsuit, for anyone who feels that strongly about it all.